Oregon birds..Columbia Gorge

I am linking up with Our World Tuesday
and Wild Bird Wednesday

Last week I had a fun vacation in Oregon visiting the Columbia River Gorge area, Mt Hood and the beautiful Oregon coastline. We spent the first three nights near the Columbia River Gorge Area, we used the town of Troutdale as our base for our visit. There were many hikes to waterfalls and beautiful scenic views of the Columbia River. This river splits the state of Oregon from the state of Washington. I am starting my post off with some of the Columbia River Gorge birds I saw and a few waterfall shots.

Click on the photo if you would like to see a larger image

This is the Multnomah Falls, the trail leads up to the middle of the falls and to the top.

Multnomah Falls drops in two major steps. The upper falls is 542 ft and the lower falls is just 69 feet. A trail leads to the footbridge which allows visitors to cross over the lower falls. There is a lodge, restaurant and visitor center on site.

This American Dipper was near the stream near the Oneonta Falls. We stopped here the first day to check out the hike to the Oneonta Falls. One must climb over a large log jam and then walk upstream to get to see the Oneonta Falls. Hubby did do this hike and I will show more of the waterfalls on another post.

The American Dipper is found near streams, it is a chunky slate-colored bird. I noticed and captured the flashing eyelid on the shot above. At the Oneonta Gorge area I saw a few of these birds. I was thinking I came across a family.

 The bird above looks like a juvie thrush to me but I am not sure. If any one can help with the id, I would appreciate the help. Edited, thanks to Jen id help the bird above is a Swainson's Thrush.

The Oregon Junco is another bird I heard and saw often.  The Oregon Junco has a dark black head with rusty sides.This Junco was seen hanging around the visitor center at the Multnomah Falls.The Oregon Junco is a lifer for me since I only see the Dark-eyed Slate Junco in Maryland.

The scenic overlooks of the Columbia River were all gorgeous stops along the Columbia River Gorge highway.



To see more photos from around the world visit: Our World Tuesday and to see birds from around the world check out Wild Bird Wednesday.  Thanks to the hosting group of Our World: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy. And Stewart our host of Wild Bird Wednesday. Thanks, also for stopping by to see my post.

Sunset over the lake

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Green Day

I have some various shots of the sunset from my backyard and some from our lake.

These are some of my hubby's favorites the reflection of the sunset on our lake.

Dear hubby also found this lovely wild lily? At least I believe it is a lily growing near the edge of the lake.

 I love this shot of the tree and the forest floor covered in pretty ferns.

 Some pretty ferns and colorful fungi growing off the fireroad.

We stopped along the fireroad to watch this group of tree swallows.

More pretty pink reflections on the lake.

Above is a shot of the sunset from my deck, the sky was colorful behind the trees.


To see more wonderful skies from around the world  Skywatch Friday and lovely greens please visit Green Day.
Thanks to Sylvia and Sandy the host of Skywatch Friday and to Fiona the host of Green Day.  Also, thank you for visiting my blog and post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Curacao Pink Flamingos

 For Nature Notes and Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday   I am so happy Stewart has started the new World Bird Wednesday. On this post I am re-visiting Curacao and the Pink Flamingos. Did you know there are actually different species of Pink Flamingos? The Pink Flamingos I saw in Curacao were the Caribbean Flamingo and then there is the Greater Flamingo and the Chilean Flamingo.

The Curacao Pink Flamingos were found at a saltwater lake or what is called the saltpans.  I believe the Caribbean Flamingos can also be found on the southern tip of Florida. Some neat facts about the flamingo. They stand on one leg to conserve body heat. They can travel 300 hundred miles in a day to a new feeding site.

The Chilean Flamingo is considered threatened due to egg harvesting and and habitat loss. I read that the Chilean Flamingo breeds in temperate South America. But, there is a small population in Utah and California?  I guess they were a little off course or introduced to the US?

The Greater Flamingo is the largest of the flamingo family. The Greater Flamingo is found in Africa, Asia and Southern Europe. The male can stand as tall as 74 inches. The use their feet to stir up the mud and then suck up the water and filter out the shrimp and other food.

The juveniles are more of a pale grayish color. In this photo there are four adults, a juvie and way in the background a Black-necked Stilt.

Above are a few of the Caribbean Pink Flamingos and a few Egrets in the background.


It was a treat to see the wild Pink Flamingos, previously all my flamingo sightings were in zoos. I hope you enjoyed my post and thank for visiting.

To see more wonderful nature photos and watery shots please visit Nature Notes and Stewart's Wild Bird WednesdayThanks to Michelle of Nature Notes and to Stewart for starting the new Wild Bird Wednesday.

More birds and blooms

Amazing how fast the weeks fly by,  linking up with The Bird D'pot and  Mosaic Monday  and Our World Tuesday

I spent more of my weekend around home so I have some more shots of my yard birds and flowers that are in bloom right now.

Above the Gray Catbird are regulars visitors in my yard, above I saw a few juvie Catbirds at the blueberry bushes. I love the hibiscus plant I have in a pot on my deck. The blooms are beautiful.

Gorgeous blooms on the hibiscus plant.

Above the Bluejay is another regular visitor, along with the Redbellied Woodpeckers. In my front yard I have some of Maryland's state flower blooming the Black-eyed Susan and bottom right is a cute birdhouse that the House Wren used for its nest.

I believe this is the Eastern Black Swallowtail above, I am not sure why but this year does not seem to be a good year for butterflies in my yard.

The Black-eyed Susans are the state flower of Maryland. I have a small group growing in my front yard. I am hoping that next year they become thicker and spread.




To see more wonderful photos and mosaics please visit  The Bird D'pot and Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday.  
Thank You to Anni of the Bird D'pot and  Mary the host of Mosaic Monday and to th hosting group at Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sandy and Sylvia.  I wish everyone a HAPPY week ahead.

My yardbirds

I am linking up with Camera Critters  check out Anni's The Bird D"pot

These are some of my backyard birds and scenes. I have been seeing lots of juvenile birds in my yard and at the feeders. Some are the Carolina Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Tufted Titmouse and lots of Chipping Sparrows.

The Carolina Chickadee is one of my common yardbirds I see year round. I love this cutie with its feathers looking all fluffy.

Next to my swing I have some blueberry bushes growing, the birds are eating the blueberries before we are able to even pick some for ourselves. We planted the blueberry bushes with the birds in mind, I read it is good to have berry bushes around the yard to attract the wildlife.

A cute fluffy looking Goldfinch, I am not sure if this is a juvie or a female?

Here is one of the male American Goldfinches. He is pretty with his bright yellow colors.

My pretty Ruby-throated Humming bird perched in my weeping cherry tree long enough for me to take a shot.

 This is my view from sitting on my deck, watching the birds in the weeping cherry tree and at my feeders and in the woods across the driveway. You can see some bare branches on the weeping cherry tree where the birds like to perch.

This chickadee is one of my favorites for the day. I enjoy sitting on my deck watching the birds come and go.

Around the front of the house, you can see the birds have plenty of trees to hide in. The rhododendroms  have over grown the house. I can see the birds closeup sitting  in the rhodo from my den window.


I hope you get to visit Misty Dawn's Camera Critters to see more cute and wonderful critters.  Thanks to Misty for hosting and thank you for stopping by to see my critter post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

SWF>>>Beginning to end

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday and Green Day

Here are some scenes from the beginning to the end of my day. I wrote on a previous post my sunrises look the same each clear morning. So here are more of my sunrise shots taken in the same spot.

You can click on the photos for a larger image.

 

LOL, I just can not have a post without birds so I am also including a few of my yardbirds , the cardinal above and a bluejay below

And a trio of Mourning Doves posing sweetly for me and my camera.

In the evening I saw the clouds breaking apart and the sun setting turned the clouds a pretty pink.

I love the pastel colors, the pink and different shades of blue. It was a beautiful evening for skywatching.

I have a setting on my camera where I can choose take a photo using vivid colors. The shot above is with using the vivid color setting. The sky did not really look this darker pink, but I think it is cool how the color changed in the clouds.

As you can see above the pink is a much lighter color but still very pretty. I hope you enjoyed my skies.
To see more of the lovely green visit Green Day and for more beautiful skies from around the world, please visit Skywatch Friday.  Thanks to the hosts: Sylvia and Sandy.Thank you also for stopping by to see my post. Have a safe and HAPPY weekend.

Northern Parula

I am linking up my Northern Parula with World Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

These are some shots from last weekend, hubby and I took local walk actually a hike from our door to the peninsula tip it is around 2 1/2 miles. It was a fun birdie walk lots of chirping going on and we heard lots of youngins.

I saw this Northern Parula singing his song for me. Is that the name of a Leon Russel song? The Northern Parula is a breeding bird for my area. I can hear them from my deck, they have a cute sound with  a loud ZIP at the end. A few years ago I had a Male Northern Parula knocking on the windows on my house. It would go from the den window to my living room window, singing and trying to knock himself out. He returned for a few years and still came to the windows. I felt bad that he could hurt himself but I was thrilled to see the Northern Parula right outside my windows.

The Northern Parula is blue above and they have white lines above and below the eye. They are called arcs but they look like white eyelashes or eyeliner. The male has a yellowthroat and breast with a mottled rufous band. My photo is cropped and little fuzzy but you can make out the beautiful colors on this bird.

Even fuzzy I love this shot showing my beautiful male singing and showing off his pretty colors. I was so mad at myself I grabbed the wrong camera going out my door and my batteries died before we even started heading back home. I left my newer camera home the Canon SX40IS. Not really new, I have had it almost a year now. The zoom on it is awesome! The stabilization even at 820mm is amazing. I am just sorry I didn't have it with me for these Northern Parula shots. These pic's were taken with the older model the Canon SX20IS, which has the equivalent of a 540 lens. I am not sure how many cameras can zoom out to 840mm without needing all the extra lenses, I have to say I could  not be happier with my Canon SX40IS.



To see more beautiful birds from around the world please visit World Bird Wednesday and to see some wonderful nature scenes visit  Nature Notes. Thanks to Springman the host of World Bird and to Michelle the host of Nature Notes. Thank you for stopping by to see my World Bird post. I hope the rest of your week is a great one, happy birding.

Rural birds and scenes

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday  and Our World Tuesday

My post and mosaic includes some rural scenes near my neighborhood and scenes I see on my way to work.

 I am able to see the sun rising above this field on most of the clear mornings.  Most of early morning's I am seeing fog over the fields. I usually get to this same spot everyday at the same time and the sun is in the same place each day.  Must be my timing is right on for seeing the sun rise.

 A Song Sparrow is a commonly heard bird , a resident of Maryland.

My sunrise on the way to work,  Eastern Meadowlark,  local produce stand, red barn, rolls of hay, Song Sparrow.

This is one of the fields I pass on the way to work everyday. A rural scene with the corn fields and rolls of hay.

Sunflowers, Eastern Bluebird, Tree Swallow, a local white barn. The Bluebirds and Swallows are common birds I see perched on the wires about the roads. Once in awhile I will see the Eastern Meadowlark.

Sometimes I catch a bluebird sitting on top of a birdhouse. It is nice to see homeowners and farmers putting up the bluebird houses.

Everyone likes to stop here for their produce, veggies and flowers.



To see more wonderful mosaics and photos check out : Mary's Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday.  Thanks to our host Mary and to the group at Our World: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sandy and Sylvia.
I wish everyone a safe and happy week ahead.